Thanks to the dear old environmentalists (there's no convincing me otherwise - don't bother), gas prices are insanely high. I have now been driving my good old used 2004 Saturn Ion for one full year. When I purchased the car last May, an entire tank of gas (about 10 gallons) cost me right around $24.00. Now, it's closer to $42.00. Don't get me wrong. As far as I'm concerned, that is totally ridiculous and completely unacceptable. However, a read through a favorite magazine and a chat with my mom and brother put things into perspective for me.
Sidenote: Wired recently ran an article about why buying a used compact car is a better choice for your wallet - and for the environment (if you buy that carbon crap) - than buying a brand new hybird, like a Prius. In fact, it recommended you go out and find a used Geo (now Chevy) Prizm or Metro from 1994 to 1997. Why? Their gas mileage strongly rivals that of a Prius. And I know this to be true because Aharon bought a used 1997 Geo Prizm in December and with driving in stop-and-go traffic from Memphis to Livonia every day, he averages right around 30 mpg. A nice traffic-friendly trip from Memphis to Port Huron results in something closer to 36 mpg. (And in case you didn't know, a Prius really only averages around 36 or 38 mpg.)
But anyway, back to me. So yes, gas costs me now almost twice what it cost me only one year ago. What's there to be thankful about in that situation? Well, on a full tank of gas, I can travel 300 miles. (Yep, that means I'm averaging 28 to 30 mpg!) My brother and my mom can also travel 300 miles on one tank of gas. The reason I'm thankful? A tank of gas costs my brother $75.00 and my mom $95.00. A tank of gas costs me $42.00 and Aharon $38.00. And yes, all four of us have different size tanks. But the catch is that we all travel 300 miles on our tank of gas. So really, Aharon and I are both way ahead of the game.
On average, I go through about 5 tanks of gas in a month. ($210.00)
Aharon goes through about 10 tanks of gas in a month. ($380.00)
Just last week I thought that forking out $600 a month for Aharon and I to travel back and forth to work for a month was insane (and it is), but when I realized that if I was driving my mom's van and he was driving Joel's Jeep, it would be closer to $1,200, I realized just how thankful I need to be for our small, safe, compact cars with excellent fuel economy...and the fact that we both got exceptional deals on them.
Trust without borders
10 years ago
